The New Bottom for Toronto Sports Teams

I think we're about to hit a new bottom... at least a new bottom for Toronto sports teams. With the Euro Cup and Olympic distractions behind us, and summer winding down, I've decided to do a quick State of the Union analysis of Toronto professional sports teams.

Toronto Blue JaysI'm sad to say I haven't followed this team much the past few weeks. Oh... I see we're dead last in the AL East, 15 games behind the Yankees. And our wild card hopes have evaporated... and half the team is on the DL. Wasn't that new wild card supposed to belong to us? Nah, we'll finish last instead.

Toronto Maple LeafsThe Leafs haven't made the playoffs since before the last labour stoppage, and now it looks like we're heading into another. We diehards don't even get to enjoy watching our team miss the playoffs again. That might be the only thing worse than the longest non-playoff streak in the league. Sad and pitiful.

Toronto RaptorsWe sucked last year, and we'll suck again this season. Every analyst and pundit has assured me of that. And really, even if a miracle of miracles occurred and we slipped into 8th place in the conference, Miami would chew us up and spit us out in 4.

Toronto ArgosFirstly, I fully acknowledge that almost none of you care about the CFL. I just checked the standings and we're 3-3. That almost sounds decent until you see in an 8-team league only one team has a worse record. That shit's cray!

Toronto FCLastly, we check in on our professional MLS soccer team. I remember getting off to a horrible start, but I've lost touch with them recently. I wonder how they're doing.... Oh... dead last in the Eastern Conference. That sounds about right.

So there you have it, a quick review of how it currently looks for Toronto sports teams. Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we've found a brand new low.

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Comments (35)

Monica

New bottom = nowhere but up! At least you were distracted enough not to witness the decline.

I think the main issue is a city who's people will continue to shell out money to see losing teams, and continue to watch them on television.

TFC games are decently busy to attend. Leafs games are packed and people just keep watching them lose on TV. Jays games are still watched decently on tv, even if not extremely well attended. Raptors games are watched and attended.

So if people are watching, and paying money for tickets to attend and buying concessions, why in the world does the team need to do any better?

I hear this line often... blaming the fans for the team's lack of success.

Let's look at the Leafs, a team I watch on TV often, and root for always. The Leafs got the biggest name GM available and paid him lots of money and gave him free reign. There's also a salary cap, and Brian Burke is allowed to spend it.

So the Leafs sucking has everything to do with mismanagement and Brian Burke's failure and nothing to do with the fact we fill the ACC regardless.

I've already said some peace about Toronto not being a good sports fan city, essentially only really interested in and supporting a team that wears blue and white and skates. Apart from that skates-wearing team, the other teams play to many empty seats that are not paid for. There is a big distinction there. Corporate Toronto is not into the Leafs. Just look at all those filled high priced corporate seats during TV broadcasts. Thousands, but even if the average southern Ontario resident could afford those tickets, they're not available.

I've also written about Torontonians not giving a rats' ass about the CFL (vs. the rest of the country where the game is played) and the fact that seeing a game at Hamilton's Ivor Wynne Stadium is a really enjoyable football experience. The CFL is Canada's national football league. Get away from Toronto and the fan support is great, making attending a game fun. I was recently in Winnipeg, where, even though it was bucketing rain so badly that the game start was delayed and it kept raining hard until the second quarter, they still had over 20,000 loud, cheering fans show up. The Argos could not hope to achieve that kind of attendance and support. Toronto will never get a NFL team. American money is not interested in Toronto for football; there are many markets to go to first. People will complain about how much it costs for a game here (hint: it will cost more than seeing a Bills game at tired old Ralph Wilson Stadium and more than an Argos game), and then simply stop going when the novelty wears off if the team is not a contender really quickly.

Mike, your look at the standings of our national football league showed something amazing that is happening in the league - incredible levels of parity. It must be driving Las Vegas bookmakers crazy. Winnipeg may be 1-5, but in the CFL, any team is capable of winning just about any game. That's part of what makes it fun to be a fan and watch - better yet - attend games. (Hey, Blind Dave, do you want to chip in here!?)

Note that I am not getting dragged into a CFL vs. NFL argument here. Both games are good, for different reasons. No, there is nowhere near as much money in the Canadian game. Financially, Canada cannot afford American football. CFL.ca's Matthew Cauz put it well in a column last year: http://www.cfl.ca/article/cauz-no-matter-the-type-all-football-is-great

I don't follow TFC much, but do other Toronto professional sports teams, apart from the one initially mentioned. Nothing will change with them until their cashflow dries up somewhat from fans voting with their bank accounts to express their disgust.

Occassionally, I actually write about the CFL. That's more exposure than most blogs give the CFL. I even write about how I prefer the CFL to the NFL. I quit the NFL long ago, shortly after Wade Phillips sat Doug Flutie in favour of Rob Frickin' Johnson.

So I like the CFL, although I haven't watched a minute so far this season, and rarely watch any NFL until the playoffs.

The passion for these teams is quickly eroding. I've been a Leaf fan my entire life but I have recently felt if I never saw another Leaf game live, I wouldn't care. I will go to the occasional game (via a free-bee from a friend) but lik emost people, why would i spend my hard earned money on crap?

Sadly, Leaf and Raptor games are filled with guys who say are they "working". You know the type - they have the company issued Blackberry which they nervously stare at because they can't think of anything else to say to the dude they're on a date with (err, I mean the client they're entertaining.......whatever). They've also ditched the tie to fit in with the other corporate clones who are also on dates.

Why wouldn't MLSE (owner of Leafs and Raptors) and the new consortium that's bought the teams (BellGlobeMediaWhatever and Rogers) want to win? Playoff games mean more cash, right? Happy fans buy more merchandise, right?

I'm sure the Jays made much more money in the early 90s than they do now. In the early 90s, SkyDome was full every night and there were many home playoff games. And everyone wanted to wear licensed gear to show their solidarity and pride in the home team.

Winning = higher revenue, and even big companies want that... especially when there's a salary cap as there is in the NHL.

@Mike...Agree, I was just suggesting it is easier for a team to be more focused day in day out on winning when it is a single owner who has his cash on the line. No management red tape, quick although not always right decisions. Think Jerry Jones, Mark Cuban, Melynuk,Bruce McNall lol....

Do you think Burke still has a job after almost 4 years without corporate protection and providing a poor, at best product? Sure they still sell out, sell tonnes of merch, and will do so anyway regardless of who owns the Leafs. But would a single passionate owner change things in TO? Give fans more hope? COMMIT to a re-build, hire the right people? Corporate ownership here in the city has not done this, why should things change? Just sayin...

Wow! Pity I missed this one from the beginning. It's been a hectic day.

I've been a huge CFL fan since I was a kid, but even back then there was far more support out west than in the east. There just always seemed to be that cloud over Toronto, Ottawa (the OTHER Rough_Riders),and Montreal. Now I grew up just north of Toronto and lived in the city itself for at least 15 years. So lets say I had roots in south-central Ontario for 35 years. I'm a transplanted westerner, but I don't turn my nose up at my roots. I just happen to be here because of a delightful redhead, but I digress...

The one big difference between then and now was then you could find someone - kid or adult - to discuss the CFL. People other than the core fans knew what was going on. Fans could also identify with more players back then. There were names to the teams and the teams had a personality. These days teams try to have one (if they're lucky) "marketable" player and that's that.

It blew my mind to see the current standings. Five teams at 3-3, two at 4-2, and one at 1-5. I don't think I've ever seen it that close before. But regardless of the sport, I'm not big on parity. I just want to be entertained and forget about life for a couple of hours.

I guess the other thing I can say here is that guys in the CFL play for the love of the game. When an entire team's payroll is less than the salary of a mediocre hockey player, that really says something about the love and dedication of those who play. Now I'm not saying that overpriced athletes don't love their game either. Many of those guys eat their sport for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and evening snack, but at least they reap the financial rewards within the small window allotted to them.

As far as the Leafs go, I'm not convinced about single ownership being better than corporate ownership. Remember Harold? Some of the other big-name solo owners mentioned in this thread are as nutty as old Pal Hal, so success is no guarantee either way.

I also don't buy into the "type of fan" argument. Whether you are blue collar or white collar or rich or poor makes no difference. There are many folks from all walks of life who bleed blue and white as much as Mike does. The issue is the affordability and availability of the good seats. I haven't been to a Leaf game since the early 90s, as I need to sit fairly close to see what's going on.

When it comes to the teams who struggle at the box office (take any market, not just Toronto), the noose hanging above their heads may not get them to play any better, but at least the incentive is there to try! But when you have super-rich teams and pathetic sheep for fans, any effort or incentive that flops can easily be brushed away as indifference because it's so much harder to see, and therefore so much harder to justify by the team in question.

Are we unique? No. St. Louis and Vancouver may not be original six, but they joined the league soon after '67, and they've never won a championship. Look at the Chicago Cubs. Talk about snakebit!

On the corporate owner vs. single owner (Cuban, Jones etc.) debate, I don't believe ownership by either entity is better than the other. While the Cuban's and Jones's of the world appear passionate and engaged and the corporation faceless...they are both governed by a similar bottom-line...profitability.

If, at the end of the day, their “investments” remain profitable both entities will carry on as is perhaps making a few "tweaks" here and there to satisfy fans and shareholders (I’ve come to realize that shareholders tend to have unusual amount of leverage in today’s world). However, both will move into high gear if their investments are in jeopardy. At this time their investments (e.g. leafs) are secure.

I also note that during labour disputes all owners, whether corporate or individual, regardless of the league involved seem to be on the same page.

Well, I want my hockey. Lock baseball out instead. They haven't been locked out in ages, so do it. Let's have a baseball lockout. As for Rogers and Bell, I hate both of them. If you're fed up with either of them, get Primus. You won't be disappointed you did. They have cellphones as well, but I don't have one. At Primus, the tech support people are very good, but the service is so reliable that I hardly ever need to call tech support.

You forgot about the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League. They won the league championship in 2011 and made the playoffs in 2012 after finishing first in their division. Best kept secret in Toronto and great entertaining sport at a fraction of the price of Leafs tickets

The Jays are at least on the right track. They've been rebuilding since AA took over in 2010, so I think he's been more concerned with the farm/young core rather than MLB wins to this point. I think they should enter a 'win now' phase in 2013 though.

Plus, they were actually right there until the injuries became insane a couple weeks ago. They should be in the Wild Card picture next year, barring another injury fest.

Leafs/Raps? Yeah, I've got nothing. Excited to see Valancunis (sp?).. Not much else.